L.A.'s Super Bloom

April 4, 2017

Are some of your friends posting selfies and artful Instagram pics of wildflower scenes? Undoubtedly, the answer is yes. After five+ years of drought in Southern California, we are experiencing a spectacular seasonal wildflower show all over the Southland. Here are some pictures taken by Museum staffers on their recent Spring wildflower adventures:

Head Gardener Richard Hayden recently visited Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Here's a compilation of some of the wildflowers he found in bloom there.

A field of golden California poppies, Eschscholzia californica. Photo by Daniel Feldman @deejayeff

Maybe you are looking for some celestial flower inspiration. Out on the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecologial Preserve, just along the trail to the vernal pools (seasonal ponds) I found a patch of purple shooting stars, Primula clevelandii (formerly Dodecatheon clevelandii). Making sure not to step on any flowers, I crouched down on the path and snapped this photo.

A field of shooting stars. Photo by Lila Higgins @colilaoptera

If you're looking for blooms closer to home, look no further than the trees on your street. Jann Vendetti, our Museum Malacologist (she studies snails and other mollusks), has been getting to know her street trees. Below are some of the flowering trees she's been seeing lately:

Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis, native to western North America and planted as a street tree, bee pollinated, attracts hummingbirds. Photo by Jann Vendetti.

American sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua, native to eastern North America and planted as a street tree, wind pollinated. Photo by Jann Vendetti.

Or maybe you want to stop by the Museum and check out the blooms in the Nature Gardens. Museum Volunteer Program Manager Elizabeth Andres took a break from sitting at her desk and wandered outside in the Nature Gardens and found this beautiful California lilac, Ceanothus cyaneus, in bloom. If you can't find the time to head out to Anza Borrego, or other wildflower hot spots, why not plan a trip to the Museum to see what's blooming?